phd linguistics admissions

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• Ph.D. Program Application
• Graduate Program

This page provides details about the procedure for applying to the graduate Linguistics program at the University of Pennsylvania. Please read it thoroughly before submitting an application. If any questions remain unanswered, contact [email protected] .

Degree Program

Deadlines and fees, required materials, evaluation criteria, financial aid, campus visits, contact information.

Note that the term "graduate group" at Penn refers to an entity that administers graduate study, and may or may not be tightly connected to a specific academic "department". The Graduate Group in Linguistics includes all the faculty of the Linguistics Department as well as many faculty who conduct linguistic research but are affiliated with other departments (such as psychology and computer science).

The Graduate Group in Linguistics normally admits only students intending to complete the requirements for the Ph.D. Strong applicants seeking an M.A. will be considered if they bring outside funding for their studies and are a good match to the interests of the faculty. We do not admit students for part-time or online study. Students are encouraged to complete the Ph.D. program in five years; for recent graduates, the time to completion is typically five or six years.

If your main research interest lies in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, or language teaching, contact the School of Education , especially under the category educational linguistics or TESOL ; the Graduate Group in Linguistics at Penn does not consider applications from students with a primary focus in these areas.

Note that we do not offer any kind of "conditional acceptance", which some applicants ask about, and that the application process and financial aid offers are the same for domestic and international applicants.  All applications are considered as a group after December 1st, mainly during January and early February.

The application deadline is December 1st , for matriculation in the fall semester of the following year; you may begin an application after October 1st. Ph.D. applications are considered only on this schedule. We do not have admissions for the spring semester. 

Applicants must ensure that their complete materials — including transcripts, test scores, letters of recommendation, personal statement, and supporting documents — are submitted by this date in order to be considered for financial aid from or through the university. Please do not email or telephone the Graduate Division or the Linguistics Department to confirm that your application is complete; we will contact you if any materials are missing.

The application fee is $90.00. Payments must be made by credit card.

The University is uses  ApplyWeb  for online applications, and all materials are handled electronically. Instructions, forms, and a link to the online application are located at  https://www.sas.upenn.edu/graduate-division/prospective-students/application-information

The Graduate Group in Linguistics requires the following materials as part of the applications. Each is discussed in more detail below.

• Academic transcripts of undergraduate courses and grades, and any previous graduate work.
• TOEFL score for non-native speakers of English.
• A personal statement of your academic goals.
• Recommendations from at least three professors or others familiar with your academic abilities.
• A writing sample and other supporting materials.

You will be notified in early January if there are any materials missing from your application.

The same application is used by applicants from either the U.S. or abroad. An admissions committee within the Graduate Group makes decisions regarding admission and financial aid, with the approval of the Graduate Dean. The Office of the Graduate Division of Arts and Sciences generates the official acceptance letter.

The application and all materials submitted to the Admissions Office become the property of the University of Pennsylvania.

Your application must include an unofficial transcript from the institution(s) where you did previous academic work at the undergraduate or graduate level. The transcripts should be scanned and submitted electronically with your application. If you are admitted to the program, you will be required to confirm the information by sending an official copy of the transcript before matriculating.

After a year in the program, students may be eligible to transfer up to eight course credits completed prior to admission. Approval will be at the discretion of the Graduate Group.

The GRE (Graduate Record Exam) is no longer considered for admission to our program, so students should not send them as part of their applications.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for non-native speakers of English. For details, see http://www.toefl.org . Anyone who has received a bachelor's degree or higher from an English-speaking university or who will receive their degree before starting graduate school is exempt from this requirement.

This year we are accepting four tests of English-language proficiency:

• TOEFL iBT Test (in person)
• TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition
• TOEFL ITP Plus for China
• Duolingo English Test [ site ]

The TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) , telephone 609-921-9000. All scores must be officially submitted to the Graduate Division by the testing agency. The codes that you will need to know are University of Pennsylvania: 2926 and Linguistics: 2903 (or, in the two-digit iBT system, 04). We do not accept scores older than two years.

Applicants are expected to have a score of at least 100 on the internet-based test (iBT). The ITP Plus China test must have a score of at least 627. For the Duolingo exam, the minimum is 125.

We also accept the IELTS , but the University is not set up to receive the scores electronically. A score of 7.0 or better is expected. Include a copy of your official scores as an upload in your application. Please do not send hard-copies to the department.

Personal Statement

In the personal statement, all Ph.D. applications within the Graduate Division of Arts & Sciences should address the following:

• Please describe how your background and academic experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree and led you to apply to Penn. Your essay should detail your specific research interests and intellectual goals within your chosen field. Please provide information about your educational trajectory, intellectual curiosity and academic ambitions. If you have overcome adversity and/or experienced limited access to resources or opportunities in your field of study, please feel free to share how that has affected the course of your education. We are interested in your lived experiences and how your particular perspective might contribute to the inclusive and dynamic learning community that Penn values and strives to create.

The personal statement prompt just given is standardized across the Graduate Division of Arts & Sciences. Here is some additional guidance from our specific graduate program. Your personal statement is an important part of your application. The admissions committee looks not only at the general background and qualifications of the applicants, but also at the fit between your specific goals and interests, and the kind of research conducted by the members of the graduate group. A length of two or three pages is usually appropriate.

The most successful statement will demonstrate that you understand the kinds of work conducted by members of the faculty with interests related to yours, and why Penn is a particularly appropriate place for you to study. You should be clear about your goals; it is acceptable to have wide interests or not to be entirely focused yet, but you should show that you understand what it means to pursue advanced study in the areas of interest that you identify. Personal anecdotes about how you became interested in linguistics, or childhood experiences with language, do not generally contribute to the effectiveness of the statement.

The personal statement is the place to describe your past training in linguistics or in related areas. We welcome applications from those with limited formal training in the field, but in such cases it is especially important to demonstrate your understanding of what graduate work in linguistics will entail, and to emphasize aspects of your educational background that will contribute to your success. We do not normally expect a resume or CV, but if your work or educational history is complex or multifaceted, you might wish to include one.

When you are asked to specify your area of concentration, please choose from among these categories: syntax, morphology, semantics, pragmatics, phonology, phonetics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, historical linguistics, evolution. If you are interested in computational linguistics, you can specify that in your personal statement, but here you should indicate the field in which you would apply computational analysis.

In our program, applicants are not expected to work out arrangements with individual faculty members before applying. The application is made to the graduate group as a whole, and students who matriculate in the program are assigned appropriate advisors after they arrive. Nevertheless, it is entirely sensible to identify how your research interests relate to those of specific faculty at Penn.

Recommendations

You will need letters of recommendation from three professors or others who are qualified to comment on your academic ability and background. The most effective letters come from those who have worked with you closely, especially on independent research, and who are familiar enough with the field of linguistics to understand what abilities are most relevant.

When you include the email addresses of your recommenders in the online application, each will automatically receive an email with an attached recommendation form. This email will allow the recommender to submit a letter electronically. Once the recommender submits the letter, it will be attached to the online application.

Writing Sample

A writing sample, such as a substantial term paper or thesis from previous undergraduate or graduate work, is necessary for the faculty to assess your research experience. If you only have work from another field, please select a paper that shows the sort of research skills relevant to linguistics. The document should be converted to pdf format and uploaded to the CollegeNet site.

That site limits the size of the files to 500 KB, so if necessary include an excerpt from a longer document. You may, in addition, provide in your personal statement a link to the full document (in pdf form) that you have posted elsewhere on the web.

We evaluate applicants holistically , taking into careful consideration the full picture of how each applicant’s unique experiences have prepared them for success in graduate school. Here are some skills and traits that we look for in highly competitive applications to our program:

Academic preparedness . The applicant demonstrates academic preparation and skills, including strong writing skills, that equip them well for graduate coursework and research in linguistics. Their academic work so far suggests potential for innovation and original thinking. 

Research experience . The applicant has taken advantage of relevant research opportunities available to them, given their background and previous opportunities. They have a realistic perspective on how to conduct a research project, along with a strong ability to work independently and problem-solve.

Fit with our department. The applicant understands what linguistics is and what kinds of research areas our department specializes in. The applicant's interests overlap with the interests of at least one, and ideally multiple, faculty members. Their research statement articulates why they are excited to join our unique intellectual community.

Commitment and adaptability . The applicant demonstrates resilience in overcoming obstacles and adapting creatively to new information and events. They demonstrate the ability and willingness to work hard and steadily towards long-term goals.

Contributions to inclusive community . The applicant stands to contribute to a diverse learning environment in linguistics through their life experiences, educational background (e.g. non-traditional paths) and/or the ability to articulate the barriers facing a variety of different groups in linguistics. They value making our department community inclusive and making linguistics accessible both within and outside the university.

Collaboration and organizational experience . The applicant demonstrates maturity through clear communication, ability to work collaboratively as part of a team, strong organizational skills, and ability to multitask. They will make positive contributions to the department’s community and activities.

Under normal circumstances – when a student does not have outside funding – all students who are offered admission to the Ph.D. program are also offered a five-year Benjamin Franklin fellowship. The annual stipend for the 12-month period starting Fall 2023 is $40,500. Please see the Graduate Division for more details.

As noted above, the deadline for applications is December 1st. Students to whom the graduate group decides to offer admission will be invited to visit the University, usually on a day in late February; notifications of admission therefore can be expected by the middle of that month. Due to processing time, unsuccessful applicants may not receive official notice until late February or early March.

The Linguistics Ph.D. program begins in the Fall semester, which starts in late August (see the academic calendar ). There is no provision for students to begin in the Spring semester.

The School of Arts and Sciences allows candidates to defer admission for up to one year. Fellowship awards may not, however, be deferred; the application must be reactivated the next year for new consideration for a fellowship.

If you would like to come and sit in on classes or meet Linguistics graduate students or faculty, please contact [email protected] . Visitors are encouraged to reach out directly to those faculty with whom they would like to meet.

See also the online map and directions .

The Graduate Division oversees the application process:

Graduate Division School of Arts and Sciences University of Pennsylvania 3401 Walnut Street, Suite 322A Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228

Telephone: 215-898-7444

The Linguistics Department administers the affairs of the Graduate Group in Linguistics:

Linguistics Department University of Pennsylvania 3401-C Walnut Street, suite 300 Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 215-898-6046

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PhD in Linguistics

These are the new requirements implemented beginning in August 2019; for the old requirements, please click here .

A Brief Description of the PhD Program

The PhD program in Linguistics allows a high degree of flexibility and specialization, and is designed to encourage students to advance quickly to producing original research. Students may choose any of several standard areas of specialization, or design their own specialization with the help of their faculty advisor.

The PhD program in Linguistics consists of three stages, which correspond to the three Graduate College doctoral degree stages (see chapter 6 in the Graduate College Handbook ). The entire PhD program in Linguistics is intended to take 5 or 6 years: 2 years for Stage 1, and 3 or 4 years for Stages 2 and 3.

Stage 1 , which should be completed in two years, consists of 40 hours of graduate coursework, and the Stage 1 qualifying examination ; at the completion of Stage 1, students are eligible to receive a MA in Linguistics.

Stage 2 consists of 64 hours of graduate coursework, the Stage 2 qualifying examination , and the preliminary examination .

Stage 3 consists of the final defense and dissertation deposit.

Entry Requirements for the PhD Program

Students may be admitted to the PhD program in Linguistics with or without a prior master’s degree in linguistics or a related field. Depending on the student’s prior preparation, they may be admitted either into Stage 1 of the PhD or into Stage 2 of the PhD. Students who have completed a master’s degree in linguistics or a closely related field may be considered for admission to Stage 2 of the PhD program. Students without an approved prior master’s degree will only be considered for admission to Stage 1 of the PhD program. For admission to Stage 1 of the PhD program, undergraduate preparation should include the study of at least one foreign language; a course equivalent to LING 400 (Introduction to Linguistic Structure); and a broad background in the humanities, social sciences, and/or mathematics. 

Students admitted to Stage 1 must complete 40 credit hours in the areas listed below, maintain a GPA of 3.5 or better in all core courses, maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better overall, and earn a grade of High Pass on the Stage 1 qualifying examination in order to advance to Stage 2. Students who complete Stage 1 with a GPA of 3.0 or better overall, and who earn a grade of either Pass or High Pass on the Stage 1 qualifying examination, are eligible t o receive an MA in Linguistics.

Students who are admitted directly to Stage 2, but lack any of the core courses required for Stage 1, must complete Stage 1 requirements immediately on entry into the program; the courses will not count toward the 64 hours required for Stage 2 of the PhD.

How to Apply

Follow this link to information about applying to the PhD program; click here to start your graduate application.

Academic Advising

All students should choose a faculty member to serve as their academic advisor. New students are advised by the Director of Graduate Studies until a different advisor is chosen. Consult often with your advisor about course selection, research projects, publications, conference presentations, and any other academic issue. You may change advisors at any time. Once you reach the stage of writing your dissertation, your academic advisor serves as your Director of Dissertation Research. Typically (though not necessarily), your advisor also serves as chair of your Prelim Examination and Final Examination Committees. To select or change an advisor, fill out the electronic advisor agreement form . Your advisor should be a tenure-track or tenured faculty member at the University of Illinois.

PhD Program Requirements: Stage 1

40 graduate credit hours are required for Stage 1 of the PhD in Linguistics. Credit hours which have already been applied to another degree do not count toward this total; nor do preparatory courses taken as a condition on admission. It is normally possible to complete Stage 1 in two years. Note: core courses for Stage 1 are under bullets A and B below; all other courses are non-core courses.

A. The following courses are required (12 hours):

• LING 501: Syntax I
• LING 502: Phonology I
• LING 507: Formal Semantics I

B. Choose at least one course each from two of the following four areas (8 hours):

• LING 450: Sociolinguistics I
• LING 406: Intro to Computational Linguistics Note: LING 402 (Tools & Technology in Speech and Language Processing) needs to be taken as a pre-requisite to LING 406 for students without a computational background
• LING 425: Introduction to Psycholinguistics
• LING 426: Child and Adult Language Acquisition
• LING 489: Theoretical Foundations of SLA

C. Choose at least one course  in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods (4 hours):

• LING 403: Introduction to Field Methods
• LING 413: Corpus Linguistics
• LING 514: Design and Methodology in Linguistic Research
• LING 516: Field Methods
• A section of LING 490 on statistics or methodology for language research (subject to SEEC approval)
• A section of LING 591 on statistics or methodology for language research (subject to SEEC approval)
• A relevant course from another unit, such as Educational Psychology, Psychology, Anthropology, or Communications, with approval from the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee (SEEC); please click here to see a list of methods courses from other units that can satisfy the methods requirement.

D. Practicum and independent study are required (4 hours):

• LING 504: Practicum (2 hours)
• LING 590: Special Topics in Linguistics (2 hours)

E. Three elective courses are required (12 hours):

• These may be any LING courses at the 400-level or above, or non-LING courses approved by the student's advisor.

F. Language Requirement:

• For students who are native speakers of a language other than English, English satisfies this requirement.
• For students who are native speakers of English, demonstrated 4 th -level proficiency is required, which can be achieved by (a) completion of four semesters of college study (or four years of high school study), or equivalent, within 5 years of matriculation; or (b) corresponding placement on an Illinois foreign language placement test.
• Language courses can be taken Credit-No Credit (CR/NC) here at UIUC to satisfy the requirement. 

G. Stage 1 Qualifying Examination:

• Students first work closely with a faculty member to prepare an original research paper. The paper must be submitted to the department during the Spring semester of the student's second year (the deadline is set by the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee, and is usually the first day of the Spring semester), and the oral exam must take place before the end of the Spring semester.
• Qualifying papers must be supervised by a tenure-line faculty member with a non-zero appointment in Linguistics. For any questions about qualifying paper supervision, students should contact the Director of Graduate Studies.
• The examination itself consists of an oral presentation of the research paper before a committee of faculty members, who may ask questions concerning the research, the written paper, and the presentation.
• High Pass : the student is eligible to proceed to Stage 2 of the PhD, as well as to earn a MA in Linguistics , provided all other requirements are met.
• Pass: the student is NOT eligible to proceed to Stage 2 of the PhD, but the student IS eligible to earn a MA in Linguistics , provided all other requirements are met. The student has to leave the program with a terminal MA.
• Fail : the student is NOT eligible to proceed to Stage 2 of the PhD, and NOT eligible to earn a MA; the student is dismissed from the program with no degree.

H. Minimum GPA requirements

• Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA across all courses, and a minimum 3.5 GPA across all core courses (listed under Point A and Point B above) in order to be eligible to proceed to Stage 2.
• Students who maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA across all courses are eligible to earn a MA in Linguistics , provided all other MA requirements are satisfied.

PhD Program Requirements: Stage 2

64 graduate credit hours are required for Stage 2 of the PhD in Linguistics. For students admitted directly to Stage 2 of the PhD, credit hours which have already been applied to another degree do not count toward this total; nor do preparatory courses taken as a condition on admission. The requirements below are in effect for all students entering the program in Fall Semester 2019 or later.

A. Choose at least one upper-level course in one of the following areas (4 hours):

• LING 541: Syntax II
• LING 581: Topics in Syntactic Theory
• relevant section of an advanced seminar or other course, with SEEC approval
• LING 542: Phonology II
• LING 520: Acoustic Phonetics
• LING 522: Articulatory Phonetics
• LING 582: Topics in Phonological Theory
• LING 547: Formal Semantics II
• LING 551: Pragmatics

B. Choose at least one upper-level course in one of the following areas (4 hours):

• LING 550 (Sociolinguistics II)
• LING 587 (Topics in Sociolinguistics)
• LING 506 (Topics in Computational Linguistics)
• LING 525 (Psycholinguistics)
• LING 529 (Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism)
• relevant section of LING 588 (Seminar in Second Language Learning)
• relevant section of LING 560 (Seminar in Bilingualism)
• LING 584 (Theories in Second Language Acquisition)
• relevant section of Ling 588 (Seminar in Second Language Learning)

C. Elective courses (12 hours)

• Students must complete at least 12 hours of graduate courses (400-level or higher) in Linguistics or related fields. These courses should reflect the student’s interests and professional goals, and should be selected in consultation with the advisor.

D. Research/Project/Independent Study Hours (12 hours)

• Students must complete at least 12 credit hours of LING 590: Special Topics in Linguistics, or of another independent research course approved by the advisor.

E. Language Requirement:

• Students must demonstrate knowledge of the structure of a language that is not their native tongue nor the same language that satisfied the foreign language requirement for Stage 1 of the PhD, or (in the case of students admitted directly to Stage 2) of the prior approved master's degree.
• This requirement may be satisfied through (a) 2 nd -level proficiency in the language, obtained through two semesters of college-level study, or equivalent; (b) 2 nd -level placement on an Illinois foreign language placement test; (c) completion of a course on the structure of the language; (d) completion of LING 516: Field Methods; or (e) a demonstration that the language is the focus of the student’s doctoral research.
• One of the languages with which the student is familiar (this may be the student’s native language, or the language used to satisfy one of the language requirements) must be a non-European or a non-Indo-European language.

F. Stage 2 Qualifying Examination:

• Students first work closely with a faculty member to prepare an original research paper. The paper may be in the same or a different area than the paper submitted for the Stage 1 qualifying examination , and it may be supervised by the same or a different faculty member. The Stage 2 paper must differ from the Stage 1 paper in terms of research topic, research questions, and/or research methods.
• For students who proceeded to Stage 2 from Stage 1, the Stage 2 paper must be submitted to the department during the Spring semester of the student's third year (the deadline is set by the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee, and is usually the first day of the Spring semester), and the oral exam must take place before the end of the Spring semester.
• For students who entered the program at Stage 2, the Stage 2 paper must be submitted to the department during the Spring semester of the student's second year (the deadline is set by the Student Examination and Evaluation Committee, and is usually the first day of the Spring semester), and the oral exam must take place before the end of the Spring semester.
• Pass : the student is eligible to proceed to the thesis proposal stage.
• Rewrite : the student is given a timeline to rewrite and resubmit the paper. Only one rewrite is permitted. The possible grades for a rewritten qualifying paper are Pass (proceed to the thesis proposal stage) or Fail (dismissal from the program).

G. Minimum GPA requirements

• Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in all courses in order to be eligible to proceed to Stage 3.

H. Thesis Hours Required (32 hours)

Students must complete at least 32 credit hours of LING 599: Thesis Research. Enrollment in LING 599 is not normally allowed before the semester in which the student expects to complete the Preliminary Examination.

I. Preliminary Examination

All students must pass the Preliminary Examination, normally in the fourth year of the PhD program for students who entered at Stage 1, or in the third year of the PhD program for students who entered directly into Stage 2.

• To take the Preliminary Examination, first finish all your course requirements. Work closely with your advisor to prepare a written dissertation proposal. Assemble your examination committee, bearing in mind the policies on committee membership set by the Graduate College (see https://grad.illinois.edu/thesis/submitting-doctoral-committee-requests for more information). Submit your written proposal to your committee at least two weeks before the oral examination, which may be scheduled through the  Graduate Student Services Office  of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics (please fill out the scheduling form at  https://slcl.illinois.edu/resources/graduate-student-services/graduate-student-exams ). You will also need to file a petition to form your prelim exam committee through the Graduate College Petition Portal .
• The examination consists of an oral presentation of the dissertation proposal before the committee. The committee may ask questions about the proposed research, the written proposal, or the presentation.

PhD Program Requirements: Stage 3

Students complete all Stage 2 program requirements before proceedings to Stage 3.

A. Final Examination/Dissertation Defense

All students must write a dissertation and successfully defend its thesis in an oral examination. Familiarize yourself early in the process with the  Graduate College policies and procedures regarding dissertations .

• The Final Examination committee is normally (but not necessarily) identical to the Preliminary Examination committee. If it is different, please bear in mind the policies on committee membership set by the Graduate College (see https://grad.illinois.edu/thesis/submitting-doctoral-committee-requests for more information).  Work closely with your advisor and other committee members to be sure the dissertation is satisfactory before arranging for the Final Examination. The completed dissertation must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks prior to the examination, which may be scheduled through the  Graduate Student Services Office  of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics (please fill out the scheduling form found at https://slcl.illinois.edu/resources/graduate-student-services/graduate-student-exams ). You will also need to file a petition to form your prelim exam committee through the Graduate College Petition Portal .
• The Final Examination consists of an oral presentation of the dissertation and defense of its thesis before the committee. The committee may ask questions about the research, the written dissertation, or the presentation.

B. Dissertation Deposit

Following successful completion the defense, make any revisions requested to the dissertation by the committee, and secure the approval of your advisor. Make sure the dissertation conforms to the  Graduate College formatting policies . Deposit the dissertation according to  the procedure set by the Graduate College .

Applying credit from other institutions

Students who enter the program with previous graduate work in Linguistics from another institution may petition to transfer course credit to the University of Illinois. Transfer of credit is not possible if the courses have already been counted towards a degree at any other institution. Transfer must be requested through the  SLCL Graduate Student Services office .

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PhD in Linguistics

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Aims of the PhD

Human language is a multifaceted phenomenon. It is simultaneously a property of individual minds and of whole speech communities, and thus both internal and external to us. It both shapes and is shaped by our societies over time. It is a combination of sound (or sign), which has physical properties that can be measured, and meaning, which does not. Accordingly, becoming a linguistic researcher involves mastering a variety of methods, both quantitative and qualitative. The PhD in Linguistics at BU aims to produce scholars who are versatile enough to be experts in both of these aspects of linguistic inquiry, yet skilled enough to do cutting-edge research in a particular subfield of the discipline. We offer a solid grounding in a range of research methods, including field methods, quantitative methods, and computational methods.

Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a PhD in Linguistics will demonstrate:

• broad knowledge of the discipline
• deeper knowledge in a specialized area or subfield
• ability to carry out a significant piece of independent research (which implies knowledge of and ability to use research methodologies in order to complete the research)

Prerequisites

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is not required to apply.

Entering students are expected to have completed introductory classes in: 

• phonetics/phonology (e.g., GRS LX 601)
• syntax (e.g., GRS LX 621)
• semantics/pragmatics (e.g., GRS LX 631)

Students who do not have sufficient background in linguistics must complete additional coursework to fulfill the above prerequisites prior to entry or during the first year. Note: if completed at BU, GRS LX 601, 621, and 631 will not count toward the PhD course requirements.

Admissions & Funding

The deadline for application to enter the program in Fall 2023 is January 6, 2023.  Information about the graduate admissions process ( including the application process and requirements ) is available at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GRS) website:

We anticipate being able to admit about five students per year. All admitted students will receive full coverage of tuition costs plus a fellowship for five years. For further information about funding, consult the GRS website above.

Requirements

Course requirements.

The PhD requires successful completion of 64 credits at the graduate level, including three core courses: 

• GRS LX 703 Phonological Analysis
• GRS LX 722 Intermediate Syntax
• GRS LX 732 Intermediate Semantics

Six additional courses from the four areas below, with two courses each in two of the areas, and one course each in the remaining two areas:

• advanced phonetics, phonology, or morphology (e.g., GRS LX 706)
• advanced syntax, semantics, or pragmatics (e.g., GRS LX 723, 736)
• linguistic research methodology
• language acquisition or socio-historical linguistics

A 4-credit graduate proseminar sequence (GRS LX 801 & 802) is typically taken in the second year.

Finally, six additional courses (including up to 8 credits of directed study) are taken in Linguistics or related fields that comprise a specialization , which will generally be in the area of the dissertation. These courses will be decided upon by the student in conjunction with their advisor, whose approval is required.

Language Requirement

The PhD requires demonstration of graduate-level reading proficiency in two foreign languages (one of which may be English, for non-native speakers) by the end of the third year of enrollment.

These proficiencies can be demonstrated through any of:

• a language examination
• successful completion of a non-credit graduate-level foreign language reading course offered at BU
• the equivalent of two years of undergraduate study of the language at BU (or successful completion of any higher-level language course taught in the language)

Graduate-level foreign language reading courses offered at BU include:

• GRS LF 621 Reading French for Graduate Students
• GRS LG 621 Reading German for Graduate Students
• GRS LI 621 Reading Italian for Graduate Students
• GRS LS 621 Reading Spanish for Graduate Students

Qualifying Examinations

To advance to candidacy, students must satisfactorily complete and defend two substantial research papers in different areas of the field (the first by the end of the fourth semester, the second by the end of the sixth semester of enrollment).

Each Qualifying Paper (QP) will be planned and carried out under the supervision of a Linguistics faculty member with expertise appropriate to the relevant project and, upon completion, will be defended orally and approved by an examining committee, composed of the first and second reader as well as a third faculty member determined by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in consultation with the student.

A brief proposal for each QP must be submitted, with signed approval of a first and second reader (who have been approved by the DGS and who have agreed to advise the student on the proposed project), by October 15 of the academic year in which the project is to be completed. For the second QP, a topic approval form, in which the student explains how the second QP differs from their first QP, must also be submitted, in advance of the proposal approval form.

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination

PhD candidates will demonstrate their abilities for independent study in a dissertation representing original research or creative scholarship.

A prospectus for the dissertation must be completed and approved by the readers, the DGS, and the Department Chair.

Candidates must undergo a final oral examination in which they defend their dissertation as a valuable contribution to knowledge in their field and demonstrate a mastery of their field of specialization in relation to their dissertation.

All portions of the dissertation and final oral examination must be completed as outlined in the GRS general requirements for the PhD degree:

Director of Graduate Studies

Co-Directors of Graduate Admissions

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Department of Linguistics

Ph.d. program.

The main components of the Linguistics Ph.D. program are as follows:

• Course Requirements
• Language Requirement
• Generals Papers
• Dissertation
• Extra Funding Availability

All requirements, including two generals papers, should ideally be completed by the end of the third year, but in no case later than the end of the fourth. The dissertation prospectus is due on October 15 of the fall term of the fourth year. Failure to meet program requirements in a timely fashion may result in termination of candidacy. 

First-year students are advised by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) until they select a major field from the regular departmental faculty. Thereafter, progress toward completion of the Ph.D. requirements continues to be monitored by the DGS, but primary responsibility for overseeing study shifts to the major advisor. Students are free to change their major advisor at any time. By the end of the second year they should also select a co-advisor, who serves as a secondary advisor and faculty mentor.

Harvard Linguistics Graduate Student Handbook

Progress to the Degree (updated 7/1/2015)

A B+ average must be maintained in each year of graduate study. Grades below B- cannot be counted toward departmental requirements; two grades below B- in required courses will result in termination of candidacy. Ordinarily, a grade of Incomplete can only be converted into a letter grade if the work is made up before the end of the following term. No grade of Incomplete can be used to satisfy a departmental requirement.   No two programs of study are alike, but students should typically plan to complete the requirements for the degree according to the timetable below. Departures from this schedule must be approved by the main advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.   Years G1 and G2: Course requirements are satisfied. By the end of the G2 year, the first generals paper should be well underway.   Year G3: Teaching duties begin. The first generals paper should be defended before the end of the fall term, and the second generals paper by the end of the spring term.   Year G4: Teaching duties continue. A thesis prospectus, naming a dissertation committee, is due on October 15 of the fall term; the committee must be chaired or co-chaired by a member of the Department of Linguistics and must include at least two members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Dissertation Completion Fellowship applications are due at midyear.   Year G5: The thesis is completed and defended in the spring.

A.M. Degree  (updated 7/1/2015)

Graduate students who have completed two years of residence, who have fulfilled all the course requirements and language requirements for the Ph.D., and who have successfully defended one Generals paper, are eligible to petition for a Master’s (A.M.) degree.  

Note that there is no master’s program in Linguistics.                     

• Courses 2024-25
• Undergraduate
• Generals Papers (updated 7/1/2015)
• Extra Funding
• Secondary Fields
• Recent Dissertation Titles
• Financial Aid

Course Descriptions

Full course descriptions, fall 2024 courses are subject to change, fall 2024 courses, fall 2024 course schedule, fall 2024 asl course schedule, american sign language (asl) at harvard.

Graduate Admissions

The department welcomes applications from those seeking a graduate program that allows students to craft individualized programs of study within broad guidelines and provides them with considerable flexibility in developing their research directions.

Through course work, dedicated faculty advising, and collaborative projects, our students learn how to approach significant theoretical questions using diverse empirical methodologies and detailed linguistic description. They are encouraged to undertake original research that spans subfields of linguistics or makes contact with neighboring disciplines.

The department receives approximately 150 applications for the Ph.D. program each year, from which, on average, 7 students are admitted. The department does not admit external applicants to the M.A. program.

The Stanford Department of Linguistics considers graduate admissions applications once a year.  The online application opens in late September and the deadline to apply to the Ph.D. program is November 26, 2024 for study beginning in the 2025-26 academic year.  

Start Your Application

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PhD in Linguistics

Dawei Jin, presenting a conference paper (now an Assistant Professor Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)

The mission of the department’s PhD program is to train students to do research in linguistics and produce research that reflects the values and the mission of the department as a whole, to prepare them for academic jobs at teaching universities, liberal arts colleges, or major research universities and for jobs outside of academia. Our goal is to ensure that all of our students have at the end of their study an academic or industry position that requires a PhD in Linguistics. Our doctoral degree track focuses on breadth and empirical/experimental methodologies. Students receive training in traditional disciplines such as syntax, semantics, pragmatics, phonetics and phonology, and they may also receive substantial training in other areas, such as language typology, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, and historical and contact linguistics. All of our students are required to take at least two semesters of Methods classes, which include courses in Field Methods, Quantitative Methods and Statistics, Corpus Linguistics and Computational Linguistics. Our students are also encouraged to explore interdisciplinary research within the UB Center for Cognitive Science , and many of our students receive extensive training in Cognitive Science through collaborations with the Psychology or Computer Science departments. 

PhD Funding

Join a community of scholars and researchers working together to solve pressing global problems. 

We are committed to recruiting the very best PhD students and preparing doctoral students for career success. UB features:

• World-class faculty experts  mentor PhD students in a dynamic research and learning environment. Students can focus on their research and scholarship alongside renowned faculty while preparing for the careers and professions that await them after graduation.
• A city on the rise.  Buffalo, N.Y. offers affordable housing, arts, culture and community. Learn more about Buffalo .

PhD Funding Opportunities

• UB’s stipend levels are competitive among public Association of American Universities (AAU) member institutions.
• Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship Program : To be eligible for a Schomburg Fellowship, candidates must demonstrate high academic achievement and have overcome a disadvantage or other impediment to success in higher education. The Schomburg Fellowship is intended to support high-achieving doctoral students. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible.
• Presidential Fellowships:  To be eligible for Presidential Fellowships, candidates must meet the criteria listed on the Presidential Fellowship page. Both domestic and international students are eligible, if they meet these criteria. For any questions regarding funding for academic year 2025–2026, contact the director of graduate studies or department chair.

Application Deadlines

December 15:  All PhD applicants wishing to be considered for financial support

March 1:  All other international PhD applicants

April 1:  All other domestic PhD applicants

Online Application

Phd program metrics, degree requirements.

For most students with no transfer credits from other institutions, the categories in the table above should account for 48 of the 72 credits required for the Ph.D. The remaining 24 credits can be Independent Study, thesis/dissertation guidance or up to 12 credits from other UB departments. (Students in the Cognitive Science track and those earning a concurrent M.S. in Computational Linguistics may be permitted to take additional courses in other departments in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies.)

*Students should consult the Director of Graduate Studies to determine which Methods courses are more appropriate given their intended specializations.

Areas of Specialization

PhD students are required to take four courses in their main specialty (including relevant core and methods courses), and are expected to choose their two methods courses in accordance with their specialization. Students need not choose their area of specialization early in their graduate career; faculty only expect that students take these four courses by the time they finish their course work (i.e., complete their 72 credit hours).

Students admitted to the PhD track who decide, during the first or second year, that they no longer wish to pursue a PhD, may instead complete the course requirements for the MA specialization and take the MA exam.

Specializations and Applicable Courses

This list of courses is intended only as a guideline, and additional classes may be added to these lists upon approval by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Please also note that some courses are more frequently taught than others. Students should contact the DGS to inquire about future course scheduling. 

*Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics are highly interdisciplinary and may involve substantial work in other departments.

Qualifying Paper

The qualifying paper (QP) is required of students who have been admitted to the Doctoral program in the Department of Linguistics. It must be completed before the student can pass on to Phase 2 of the program (i.e., the phase during which students conduct their PhD thesis research). The QP is intended to give the student experience in carrying out a research project that goes beyond what is normally required of a course paper; however the project certainly can evolve out of a course paper. The paper should have the format of a journal submission, and be between 9,000 and 12,000 words in length.

Early in their second year of graduate study, the student should choose a faculty member who will advise the student while he or she is working on the QP. (The faculty member may be, but does not have to be, the same faculty who will direct the student’s dissertation.) The role of the advisor is to guide the student as he or she is carrying out the research and the writing. The student, together with the advisor, select a second committee member (or “reader”), who will read and comment on the QP.

Once the QP has been approved by the advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies will assign a third committee member (or “reader”), and the other members of the QP committee will then read the QP and provide feedback or simply approve the paper if no additional revisions are necessary. When the committee has approved the QP, the three faculty sign the approval form. Students return the form to the Director of Graduate Study after all three faculty have signed the form, and (s)he will also sign it. Finally, the form is sent to the graduate secretary, so that (s)he can enter the information into our student database and file the form in the student’s file.

Students are required to make an oral presentation of their QP research at the end of their fifth semester (at the latest), and to finish their QP by the end of the sixth semester (at the latest). Upon completion of a student’s QP, the faculty as a whole will either determine whether (s)he should passed onto Phase 2 of the PhD program. In the event a student is not passed onto the P.D phase of the program, (s)he will earn a terminal MA and will leave the program.

Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal is not intended to be a paper in the same sense as the QP. Rather, the dissertation proposal should be viewed as a very long abstract. It should include a statement of the topic (or hypothesis/claim); the context for the research (Why should other linguists be interested in the research? How does it fit into previous research?); the methodology and nature of the data or evidence that the student hopes to collect or find; and, perhaps, a preview of the conclusions the student hopes to present or the contribution the dissertation will make. Generally, the proposal should not be any longer than 20 pages; however the dissertation advisor ultimately determines the form of the proposal.

Dissertation Proposal Defense

The proposal defense is simply a meeting of the committee members and the student to ensure that everyone is clear about the nature of the topic, the scope of the research, and the methodology. Typically, no one “fails” a proposal defense, since the primary goal is to clarify and comment on the research before the research begins. The student should be aware, however, that the proposal defense may result in significant changes in the research plan.

Once the proposal defense has taken place, the committee members sign the form, the form is returned to the Director of Graduate Studies to sign, and finally the form is sent to the Assistant to the Chair.

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Phone: (716) 645-0129

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Phone: (716) 645-0113

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Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, PHD

On this page:.

At a Glance: program details

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

The PhD program in linguistics and applied linguistics focuses on the scientific study of human language and the application of that study to the human condition.

Students in this program select a research specialization in formal linguistics, applied linguistics or some combination within these fields of study.

The curriculum provides professional training in linguistics and applied linguistics with focused research in several linguistic subfields, including syntax, semantics, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, language contact and change, language planning, Indigenous American linguistics, language documentation and revitalization, second language acquisition, second language teaching and learning, teaching English to speakers of other languages, global Englishes and computer-assisted language learning.

The doctoral program in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics focuses on the study of human language and the application of that study to the human condition.  Students in this program will choose a research specialization which can be formal linguistics, applied linguistics, or some combination of these areas.  The curriculum will provide training in linguistics and applied linguistics with focused research in several areas such as phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.  Second language acquisition and second language teaching and learning, TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages), language contact and change, including World Englishes, are also research possibilities in addition to sociolinguistics, language planning, discourse analysis, language and cognition.

Matthew Prior , Director

Kira Assad, Program Manager

Faculty in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

Doctoral Examinations

Doctoral Procedures and Timeline

Teaching Assistantships

Degree Requirements

Curriculum plan options.

• 84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a foreign language exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (18 credit hours) APL 555 Disciplinary Discourses (3) APL 601 Introduction to Applied Linguistics (3) LIN 511 Phonetics and Phonology (3) LIN 514 Syntax (3) LIN 515 American English (3) or LIN 516 Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis (3) LIN 655 Advanced Disciplinary Discourses in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics (3)

Electives and Research (33 credit hours) LIN 501 Approaches to Research (3)

Specialization (21 credit hours)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) LIN 799 or APL 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree to be used for this degree. If students do not have a previously awarded master's degree, then 30 credit hours is made up of additional electives and research coursework which must include LIN 510, if they have not previously taken it or its equivalent.

Students must demonstrate evidence of competent knowledge of a natural language other than modern English, to be selected by the student and subject to the approval of the chair of the dissertation committee. The language requirement must be completed before the student is eligible to take the doctoral examinations. This requirement may be met by any of the following:

• earning a "B" or higher (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) in a 400- or 500-level course in an appropriate (approved) language
• demonstrating comparable proficiency by taking a language examination, administered by the School of International Letters and Cultures, in a language approved by the student's supervisory committee
• demonstrating native-speaker proficiency, as determined by the School of International Letters and Cultures, in a language approved by the student's supervisory committee
• earning a "B" or higher (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) in both ENG 530 Old English and ENG 531 Old English Literature or the equivalent of each
• holding a bachelor's degree in an approved foreign language
• having fulfilled a foreign language requirement toward a previously awarded master's degree that was completed within five years of the semester for which the student was admitted to the doctoral program
• two years (four semesters) of successfully completed college-level coursework (no more than six years prior to admission to the degree program) at least at the 100 and 200 levels with a "C" or better for languages which the School of International Letters and Cultures does not offer or does not offer above the 200 level

The foreign language requirement must be in a language approved by the student's doctoral supervisory committee.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• statement of purpose
• resume or curriculum vitae
• three letters of recommendation
• academic writing sample relevant to the field
• statement of teaching philosophy (teaching assistantship only)
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English (regardless of current residency) and has not graduated from an institution of higher learning in the United States must provide proof of English proficiency. Applications will not be processed without valid proof of English proficiency. More information about English proficiency requirements can be found the school website . Please note that official scores must be sent to ASU in order for the application to be processed.

The well-considered one- to two-page statement of purpose should explain the applicant's scholarly background and training, career goals, proposed research specialization, any secondary field of interest and why the applicant wishes to pursue a PhD in linguistics and applied linguistics at Arizona State University. Applicants applying for funding must also submit a statement of teaching philosophy.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, learning outcomes.

• Independent research expertise: Students will be able to design and carry out an original research study in their discipline and subdisciplines.
• Scholarly writing expertise: Students will demonstrate the ability to produce written scholarly work at a level expected by the profession and consistent with the degree program.
• Critical analysis expertise: Students will demonstrate the ability to explain, synthesize and critique existing scholarship in their research area.

Career Opportunities

Graduates with research expertise in linguistics and applied linguistics work in a variety of professional contexts, such as academia, government, business, health care, legal settings, publishing, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations.

Career examples include:

• computer-assisted language learning expert
• data analyst
• forensic linguist
• language policy or documentation expert
• language program director or coordinator
• language researcher
• linguistic consultant
• program and curriculum developer
• teacher trainer
• university professor

Global Opportunities

Global experience.

With over 250 programs in more than 65 countries (ranging from one week to one year), study abroad is possible for all ASU students wishing to gain global skills and knowledge in preparation for a 21st-century career. Students earn ASU credit for completed courses, while staying on track for graduation, and may apply financial aid and scholarships toward program costs. https://mystudyabroad.asu.edu

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-3168

The Ph.D. Application

Find important details on the process of applying for graduate study in linguistics at Maryland below. 

Important Dates

Application deadline.

Application materials for the Ph.D. Program in Linguistics should be received by the second Friday in December. In 2024 this will be  Friday December 13, 2024. The Admissions Committee may be unable to consider materials received after this date, and even when a late application can be considered, the applicant may have fewer opportunities for financial support.   (If you have been assuming the inaccurate Graduate School target date and discover this after our department deadline of the second Friday of December, please contact the graduate admissions director by email.)

Timely submission of online application

Applicants are encouraged to submit the initial online application in advance of the application deadline, preferably at least one week before the target date. This form requires minimal information but is important for enabling the rest of the application process. After the initial application has been submitted, an applicant may submit additional information and upload files via the Application Supplemental Form (ASF). The ASF is also used to submit names of recommenders, who are then invited to submit electronic letters of recommendation.

Electronic Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation may, in principle, be submitted either electronically or via mail. However, the department has a strong preference to receive electronic letters, as all files are reviewed electronically. Letters submitted by mail should be submitted at least two weeks before the target date, in order to ensure that they are processed by the Graduate School in time for the early January target date. If the ASF is submitted shortly before the target date then recommenders will have little time to submit their letters—applicants are responsible for keeping their referees informed about the application timetable and for providing advance notice of when letters will be required.

Admissions Timetable

Initial offers of admission and financial aid for the fall semester are normally made in late February-March. Times vary depending on the confirmation of the department's budget. The department will hold an open house for invited prospective students in late February or early March. (Participation in the open house is recommended, although it is neither necessary for admission nor a guarantee of admission.) Further offers of admission and financial aid are sometimes made at a later date, if additional funds become available. In recent years, five-10 new students have started the Ph.D. program each year. Students who receive financial aid offers are required to accept or decline the offer by April 15.   Note that the Graduate School's website allows applicants to check on the status of their application automatically. Applicants should not rely on this status check for reliable information. Applications are often marked as incomplete when they are, in fact, complete, because some electronically transmitted files are not reflected in the status check. The department has access to more accurate records on what materials are missing and contacts applicants when critical materials fail to arrive. The only time to contact the department with a concern is if no ASF invitation is received. Note also that admitted candidates are contacted by the department long before this is reflected in the online status check, so there is little value in regularly checking the online application status.

An applicant who is considering a late application and who considers themself to be a strong candidate for admission should contact Professor Bill Idsardi to inquire about whether financial aid is likely to become available. Students with external sources of funding (e.g. government fellowships) are also encouraged to apply early.

The Department of Linguistics only accepts students for fall semester admission. The department does not accept students for January admission, due to course scheduling constraints.

Requirements for Admission

Online application.

The Department of Linguistics strongly encourages all applicants to submit an online application. It is now possible to submit most application documents online, including writing samples and letters of recommendation. All application materials are distributed and reviewed electronically, including documents submitted as hard copies, which are scanned. The admissions committee will not directly access hard copy documents. Here is the university's step-by-step guide to applying .

Format of electronic documents (important!)

Wherever possible, all uploaded files (writing samples, personal statements, CVs, etc.) should be submitted in PDF format. This allows for more reliable distribution of materials to reviewers and saves many hours of work for the graduate admissions director. Free tools for converting word processor files to PDF format are available for most operating systems. Also, please use transparent file names that begin with the applicant's last name. For example, Mary Smith's personal statement, CV and writing samples would be called smith_statement.pdf, smith_cv.pdf, smith_sample1.pdf, and smith_sample2.pdf. Use of PDF format and consistent naming is extremely useful for reviewers, who must consult hundreds of files.

Contents of application

A complete graduate application has these 10 parts:

• Application Form: The Graduate School strongly prefers that this form be submitted online. Here is t he university's step-by-step guide to applying . The Linguistics Department encourages applicants to submit this form at least one week before the target date, in order to make it easier to submit other files electronically.
• Application Fee:  See the Graduate School website for information on current fees. The fee may be submitted online. The Linguistics Department and the university are committed to reducing barriers to applying to the doctoral program for Black, Indigenous and People of Color, as well as those facing financial hardship. In order to request a fee waiver, please follow the instructions on the Graduate School website,  https://gradschool.umd.edu/feewaiverinformation .
• Transcripts:  Admission and enrollment require one complete set of official transcripts for completed and in-progress undergraduate and graduate degrees. Unofficial transcripts may be submitted during the process of application solely for the purposes of review. But official admission, and also enrollment, cannot be completed without transcripts that are official. Transcripts should be submitted in hard-copy form and sent to the Enrollment Services Office at the following address: University of Maryland College Park, ESO - Application for Graduate Admission, 0130 Mitchell Building, College Park MD 20742, USA.

Applicants can upload scans of their transcripts during the application process, but if admitted then they need to provide official transcripts in order to enroll in the program.  

• Letters of Recommendation Applicants should solicit letters of recommendation from at least three people who are familiar with the applicant's work and who can offer a detailed, honest assessment of the applicant's abilities, experience and suitability for an advanced degree in linguistics. These letters should be confidential. Non-confidential letters generally carry much less weight. These letters may be submitted online by the recommender following submission of the initial online application form and receipt of the ASF (see below). Alternatively, hard copies may be mailed directly to the Enrollment Services Office (address listed above). However, hard copies are not preferred and may lead to a delay in the processing of an application. Letters that are submitted online are immediately accessible to the admissions committee, whereas letters that are submitted in hard copy are often delayed by two weeks or longer.
• Statement of Goals, Experiences and Research Interests This should provide a clear explanation of the applicant's objectives in pursuing an advanced degree in linguistics and at Maryland in particular. Specific interests or relevant experience should be mentioned where applicable. The Statement of Goals is not a literary contest or an invitation to flatter the department or its faculty, and there is no “recipe” for a strong statement. The statement allows the department to better understand an applicant's goals, interests and how well the applicant will be served by the department's strengths and emphases. The statement should be submitted online via the ASF. Note that the department does not have a length limit for the statement (contrary to statements on the Graduate School site).
• Writing Sample(s) Applicants should submit one or more pieces of written work with their application. This should preferably represent work done in linguistics, but work in other fields showing evidence of careful analysis and independent thought is also acceptable. The writing sample may be mailed directly to the Department of Linguistics, but it is strongly preferred that applicants submit writing samples online as part of the ASF. Any hard copy documents will be scanned and reviewed in electronic form. Any bound hard copy documents may be ignored, since they are very difficult to scan. Applicants who submit writing samples online should bear in mind that the file(s) will be made available to multiple readers who may use different computer platforms. Files should be kept to a reasonable size (< 1Mb wherever possible), and care should be taken to ensure that any embedded graphical objects are no larger than necessary. Please send PDF format files, following the naming conventions above.
• CV/Resume An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV, or resume) is preferred. This may be submitted as part of the ASF.
• GRE General Test   The Linguistics Department does not use GRE scores in the application process, even if an applicant includes a GRE score in their application. 
• English language proficiency for international students The English language proficiency requirements are set by the Graduate School, not the department, and can be found at  https://gradschool.umd.edu/admissions/english-language-proficiency-requirements . Questions about the requirements should be directed to the International Education Services (IES) office. International students who have a degree from a university in an English-speaking country are not required to submit a TOEFL score. Applicants from francophone Canada who have questions about this requirement should contact the graduate admissions director.
• Application Supplemental Form (ASF) The online application involves a two-step process. In the initial online application students are asked to provide basic personal and academic information. After the initial online application has been processed applicants are invited to submit additional information and electronic documents via the Application Supplemental Form (ASF). At this stage students may submit a personal statement, writing samples, CV and contact information for individuals who can submit online letters of recommendation. Electronic documents (in PDF format) are strongly preferred.

Financial Aid and Support

Financial support information form (international students).

The University of Maryland Graduate School application forms seek information about an applicant's ability to pay for graduate studies. This is a requirement for securing a U.S. student visa. Please do not be alarmed by these questions. Almost all Ph.D. students in the Department of Linguistics receive full financial aid for five years, covering tuition and stipend, from one or more of the following: (i) Teaching Assistantships, (ii) Research Assistantships, (iii) University Fellowships, (iv) external fellowships (e.g. Rotary, Fulbright, NSF, SHHRC, etc.).

The Department of Linguistics encourages students to seek external fellowships, but does not expect students to fund their Ph.D. from personal funds. For this reason, it is not necessary for applicants to provide a detailed justification for why financial aid is needed. It is sufficient to write: "Personal funds are insufficient; financial aid is required.” Applicants who are supported in full or in part for their studies should explain this in the personal statement.   International students who receive a form requesting information about sources of financial support may enter in the table row labeled "University of Maryland Assistantship" $36,000 for the first year, with the increases specified in the form for subsequent years. If funding is provided by a full or partial fellowship from external sources, then the University of Maryland total may be reduced accordingly, and the amount of the external fellowship should be entered in the relevant row of the form.

Sources of Financial Aid

Financial aid (tuition + stipend) is available on a competitive basis. The department funds Ph.D. students for up to five years, provided that the student makes satisfactory academic progress. Graduate funding comes from a number of sources, including:

• Graduate Assistantships (GAs) These typically involve teaching service in undergraduate linguistics courses such as LING 200 and LING 240, or teaching more advanced undergraduate courses and seminars.
• Research Assistantships (RAs) These typically involve research associated with a grant-supported faculty research project.
• University Fellowships The university offers a number of these fellowships to outstanding applicants, releasing the student from GA or RA responsibilities for up to two years of study.
• Other sources of funding are occasionally available through the department or university, including dissertation fellowships.
• A number of graduate students in the department are supported in whole or in part by fellowships from external organizations.

What Not To Do

Each year the department receives many email inquiries from applicants that are transparently “form letters” sent to many different programs, listing very general questions that are already answered in this document. Such inquiries are rarely an effective route to admission to the Ph.D. program. Also, please do not send an email inquiry that says "I am interested in your graduate program - please send me more information.” Such inquiries do not convey the impression that the prospective applicant has done their homework.  

Who to Contact

William idsardi.

Professor, Linguistics

Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science

CLaME: Max Planck • NYU Center for Language Music and Emotion

1401 A Marie Mount Hall College Park MD, 20742

Director of Administrative Services, Linguistics

1401 Marie Mount Hall College Park MD, 20742

Related Information

• Graduate Program FAQs
• Graduate Funding
• Living Here
• About the Department

Applications for PhD program admissions are due by  December 1 for entry in the following fall semester. Master’s program applications are due by  January 15 for entry in the fall semester of the same year.

All applications and materials must be submitted to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences through the Georgetown GRAD application portal . Read more about the application process on the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences admissions page .

If you have administrative or general questions about the application process, please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator Erin Esch Pereira . Please understand that application materials sent to individual faculty members cannot be considered.

Go to: Application Checklist l Concentrations l Additional Advice

Application Checklist

– Application Form – Statement of Purpose (500 word limit) – Writing sample  – Official Recommendations (3) – Indication of concentration (for M.S. and Ph.D. applicants) – Non-refundable Application Fee – Transcripts from all prior institutions. These do not need to be “official”. Official transcripts are not required until you receive and accept an offer of admission. – TOEFL / IELTS required for all non-native English speakers, ( ETS test code number is 5244 )

Concentrations

Students applying to the M.S. or Ph.D. programs should indicate on their application form (and written statement of purpose) which of our 4 concentrations best matches their interests. Click each concentration below for more information. Ph.D. applicants may also apply for an additional, optional concentration in Cognitive Science after selecting their main concentration.

• Applied Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Theoretical Linguistics

Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Cognitive Science program for Ph.D. applicants

Students applying to a concentration in our PhD program can apply simultaneously to the  Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Cognitive Science program . This program is designed to enable PhD students in Psychology, Linguistics, Philosophy, Neuroscience, and Computer Science to pursue a concentration in Cognitive Science. Students accepted to the Cognitive Science concentration take courses and create an advisory committee of faculty members from multiple departments at the University, which can include the Departments of Psychology, Linguistics, Computer Science, Philosophy, Neurology, Biology, and/or Spanish and Portuguese. Students will graduate with a Ph.D. from their home department with a Concentration in Cognitive Science. To apply for admission, select “yes” in response to the Cognitive Science question in the application portal and submit a short (1 page) essay describing your interest in cognitive science.

Additional Advice

    how to submit.

The application form, statement of purpose, writing sample, unofficial transcripts and three recommendations should be submitted electronically as part of the application to the Graduate School. Materials should NOT be sent to the Department of Linguistics.

Applicants are required to upload to the application system unofficial transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended.  Do not send electronic or paper copies of your transcripts before receiving an offer of admission . Review the  unofficial transcript requirements  for additional details and FAQs.

Only unofficial transcripts that have been uploaded to the application by the student are required for the application review. Applicants who receive an offer of admission will be required at that time to submit official transcripts for verification prior to enrolling. Do not send electronic or paper copies of your official transcripts before receiving an offer of admission.

    Writing Sample

Each applicant must submit an appropriate academic or professional writing sample in English, e.g., a term paper, thesis, or professional article that demonstrates writing and analytical skills. We have no length requirement, but recommend that submissions be between 15 and 40 pages. Doctoral applicants should submit a research paper that demonstrates their ability to conduct original research in Linguistics or a closely related discipline.

    Statement of Purpose

Admissions to the doctoral program are limited and highly competitive. In their statement of purpose, doctoral applicants should outline a research program and explain their qualifications to pursue advanced research in their chosen area. It is often useful for prospective students to indicate the faculty member(s) with whom they would be interested in working.

    Notes for Non-Native Speakers

All entering students who are not native speakers of English must demonstrate a satisfactory level of proficiency prior to registration, as outlined in the exam score section below.

    Required Exam Scores

GRADUATE RECORD EXAM  (GRE)

GRE scores are not required for admission.

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY:  TOEFL / IELTS  All applicants who are not native English speakers are required to demonstrate a level of proficiency in the English language sufficient to meet the admission requirement of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Proficiency can be demonstrated in the following ways: Bachelor’s or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education in the United States or from a university where English is the primary language of instruction. Minimum score on either the TOEFL or IELTS test.

Minimum scores: TOEFL : A minimum score of 600 (paper-based test) or 250 (computer-based tests) or 100 (iBT test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). IELTS : A minimum score of 7.5 from the International English Language Testing System.

Admitted applicants with a TOEFL writing score of less than 28 (iBT) or an IELTS writing score of less than 7.5 that intend to matriculate are required to take the Department of English as a Foreign Language Writing Placement Exam prior to enrolling in Fall courses. Students who score less than 5 on the written exam will be required to enroll in ENFL-111: Expository Writing for Foreign Students. More detailed information will be sent the summer prior to matriculation.

Test scores must be received by the application deadline date. Applicants should allow six to eight weeks from the test date for the reporting of scores to the institution. Applications will not be considered without appropriate test scores.

Linguistics (PhD)

Program description.

The PhD program in Linguistics is for students interested in a career in research. Students receive a solid training in the fundamentals of phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, and computational linguistics (see faculty groupings and links to personal pages below). Subsequently, students attend advanced courses and engage in creative research, presented in two qualifying papers and a dissertation. The program has a foreign language requirement.

All students have the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant for one or more undergraduate courses, and are strongly encouraged to do so, though this is not a requirement of the program.

Our department does not offer any courses in applied linguistics. For such courses at NYU, please contact the TESOL Program at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development .

Students may only enroll in the Fall semester.

All applicants to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) are required to submit the  general application requirements , which include:

• Academic Transcripts
• Test Scores  (if required)
• Applicant Statements
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
• Letters of Recommendation , and
• A non-refundable  application fee .

See Linguistics for admissions requirements and instructions specific to this program.

Program Requirements

Language proficiency, qualifying papers, dissertation proposal, dissertation defense and approval, departmental approval.

Or another departmental, extra-departmental or consortium course. At most one of these courses may be used to satisfy both a breadth requirement and the student's area requirement (see below). Students may satisfy a breadth requirement with another graduate introductory level course either in the Linguistics department, in another department at NYU, or at a consortium partner university. Students must consult with their advisor in advance and obtain the permission of the Director of Graduate Studies if they wish to use a course not on this list to satisfy a breadth requirement.

Students must take two courses that constitute an area of specialization. One of these courses may also be used to satisfy the breadth requirement. The second course should be decided on with the student’s advisor and be approved by the DGS. An area of specialization may be one of the traditional sub-disciplines of linguistics (e.g., syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, phonetics, phonology, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, language acquisition, morphology) or another area of specialization that crosses these sub-disciplines, decided on between a student and their advisor.

Additional Program Requirements

For the PhD degree, the student must demonstrate reasonable proficiency in one language other than English that is of clear relevance to the student’s research, subject to approval by the director of graduate studies. Proficiency can generally be demonstrated in two ways: First, by earning a grade of B or better in at least the fourth term of a college foreign language course completed not more than two years before the student’s admission to the Graduate School of Arts and Science. Second, by passing the appropriate Graduate School of Arts and Science foreign language proficiency examination. When proficiency is demonstrated in some other way (e.g., when a student presents an undergraduate degree from a foreign university where the language in question is the medium of instruction for the student’s course of study), the director of graduate studies may grant a waiver of the foreign language examination.

Students must submit qualifying papers in two different areas of linguistics. A qualifying paper (QP) is called “qualifying” because a student demonstrates that she or he is qualified to do a dissertation. It contains original thought, a command of the literature, sound linguistic analysis and argumentation, and clear presentation. Each paper must be no more than 50 double-spaced pages in length (tables, charts, spectrograms, footnotes, and bibliography included).

The student submits the first QP in the fourth semester of the student’s career and the second QP in the fifth semester. If one of the QPs contains an extensive experimental or fieldwork component, one semester may be added to that QP’s timetable. An extension will only be permitted for one QP. Thus, if it is the first QP, it is due in the fifth semester (and hence the second QP is due in the sixth semester), while if it is the second QP that adds an extensive experimental/fieldwork component, it is due in the sixth rather than the fifth semester. Students who do not meet these requirements will be put on academic probation.

After a student has completed the second qualifying paper, the student begins work on a dissertation proposal. Once the student has selected the area in which she or he wishes to write a dissertation, the student should meet with her or his potential dissertation adviser and obtain that faculty member’s agreement to serve in that capacity. Students are expected to choose the dissertation adviser by the end of the first week of the seventh semester. This person is responsible for working with the student to make sure that the dissertation proposal is completed in a timely fashion. The student’s dissertation committee will consist of four faculty members, at least three of whom will come from within the department, in addition to the dissertation adviser. A full committee for the dissertation should be chosen by February 1 of the eighth semester.

The dissertation proposal is to be a maximum of 50 double-spaced pages, including footnotes, tables, charts, spectrograms, and bibliography. It should demonstrate a command of the literature, the significance of the dissertation (i.e., the contribution that it will make to the field), the structure of the proposed dissertation, and the student’s ability to carry out linguistic analysis of a quality appropriate for a dissertation. Students may incorporate one (or both) of the qualifying papers into the dissertation proposal if appropriate. Similarly, it is fully expected that large sections of the dissertation proposal will go directly into the dissertation.

Students are expected to complete the dissertation proposal by March 1st of the eighth semester and defend the proposal by the end of the fourth year. A date for the defense will be determined in conjunction with the committee members. A proposal defense can have three outcomes: “accepted,” “accepted pending satisfactory revisions,” and “rejected.” If the proposal is not accepted (in either form) by the end of the fourth year, the student will be put on academic probation.

Students with an approved dissertation proposal will proceed to write the dissertation under the supervision of the dissertation adviser and with the advice of the members of the dissertation committee. When the committee members agree that the dissertation is ready to be defended, a final oral examination will be scheduled. Passing this defense and receiving the committee’s approval of the dissertation are the final departmental requirements for the PhD

All Graduate School of Arts & Science doctoral candidates must be approved for graduation by their department for the degree to be awarded.

Sample Plan of Study

Following completion of the required coursework for the PhD, students are expected to maintain active status at New York University by enrolling in a research/writing course or a Maintain Matriculation ( MAINT-GA 4747 ) course.  All non-course requirements must be fulfilled prior to degree conferral, although the specific timing of completion may vary from student-to-student.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will:

• Have mastered a wide range of linguistic phenomena, dominant theories, and scholarly literature relevant to their subfield(s).
• Have mastered the methodological standards in their own subfield(s) and be familiar enough with those of the other fields to appreciate scholarly talks and papers across the discipline.
• Have demonstrated in their Qualifying Papers (QP) and QP defenses that they are capable of both successfully communicating their research orally and producing written work that is of appropriate quality for publication and conference acceptance.
• Have made a substantial, innovative contribution to the field.
• Have engaged in professional practices of the field (e.g. peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and teaching).

NYU Policies

Graduate school of arts and science policies.

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages .

Academic Policies for the Graduate School of Arts and Science can be found on the Academic Policies page . 

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Requirements

Opportunities

Program Outcomes

• Accreditation

Job Outlook

Gallaudet’s Ph.D. program in Linguistics, with a focus on ASL and other signed languages, gives students the opportunity to specialize in a range of theoretical and applied areas related to signed languages, including phonology, syntax, morphology, cognitive linguistics, sociolinguistics, first and second language acquisition, applied and engaged linguistics, multimodality, and language documentation.

Successful applications include a letter of interest that identifies a prospective Ph.D. advisor. Applicants are encouraged to contact the prospective advisor and the Linguistics Graduate Coordinator ahead of time to discuss the admissions process. Applicants also submit a CV, transcripts, and a sample of their academic work; the Graduate Admissions webpage lists detailed information about the application process and requirements.

Required Coursework Credits for Graduation

Students who have already completed the 41 credits required for the Gallaudet LIN M.A. are required to complete a minimum of 36 additional credits (24 required credits and 12 elective credits) for the LIN Ph.D. For these students, the doctoral curriculum consists of a total of 77 credits of coursework plus dissertation research.

Students who enter the LIN Ph.D. program without a Gallaudet LIN M.A. are required to complete a minimum of 62 credits (26 required M.A. credits, 24 required Ph.D. credits, and 12 elective credits) plus dissertation research. These students must also successfully complete the Qualifying Exam and Viva Exam. Although these students are not typically awarded an incidental M.A. on the way to the Ph.D., this option is available upon completion of the entire M.A. in Linguistics, which includes an additional 15 elective credits.

All Ph.D. students must complete the following courses (24 credits): Sociolinguistics in Deaf Communities (LIN 741), Phonology III (LIN 801), Generative Linguistics III (LIN 802), Cognitive Linguistics III (LIN 827), Guided Research Project (LIN 880, taken twice), Concept Paper (LIN 883), and Dissertation Proposal Development (LIN 890).

All Ph.D. students must also complete a minimum of 12 elective credits, to be chosen by the student in consultation with the student’s advisor. Electives outside of Linguistics are subject to approval by the Linguistics faculty, and these courses should focus on aspects of linguistic theory, application, or research related to the student’s professional or academic goals. Some electives may also be taken through the Consortium of Colleges and Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area.

Guided Research Project (LIN 880), GRP Reader and GRP Presentation Milestones

For the Guided Research Project (GRP), students design and conduct an independent research project under the guidance of their dissertation advisor. The GRP typically is related to the student’s dissertation topic, but is not required to be. LIN 880 is taken twice, and the final GRP paper is evaluated by both the advisor and a GRP reader who is a Linguistics faculty member external to the project. The GRP paper must be considered satisfactory by both evaluators in order for the student to continue in the Ph.D. program.

Students are required to give a presentation on their GRP, similar to what would be given at a professional conference. This is a formal presentation, 20 minutes in length with 10 minutes for discussion and/or Q&A. Faculty evaluate the presentation in areas of content, presentation, and language use, and students receive feedback from the faculty. Successful completion of the GRP presentation is required to continue in the Ph.D. program.

Concept Paper (LIN 883), Field Exam and Concept Paper Presentation Milestones

The Concept Paper serves as a transition from students’ preparatory coursework to their dissertation proposal. This paper includes a statement of the research question(s) and a review of relevant literature, and focuses primarily on (a) defining the key concepts relevant to the student’s anticipated research plans and (b) making the underlying theoretical assumptions explicit. The Concept Paper must be completed in the first 10 weeks of LIN 883 in order to provide time for the Field Exam and Concept Paper Presentation to occur. LIN 883 may be taken twice, at the discretion of the Linguistics faculty.

The content of the Field Exam is determined by the student’s Concept Paper. Three examiners (the LIN advisor for the Concept Paper, a second LIN faculty member with expertise in some area relevant to the student’s Concept Paper, and a third LIN faculty member who does not work in the area of the student’s Concept Paper) conduct in-depth questioning in areas pertinent to the Concept Paper topic. Student responses are evaluated by all three examiners together as a Pass with Distinction, Pass, Unsatisfactory or Fail. Students who receive an Unsatisfactory score on the Field Exam are required to retake the exam; students who Fail the Field Exam are dismissed from the program. Students who retake the Field Exam and receive either a score of Unsatisfactory or Fail are dismissed from the program.

After successful completion of the Field Exam, students give a presentation on their Concept Paper. This is a formal presentation, similar to what would be given at a professional conference, 20 minutes in length with 10 minutes for discussion and/or Q&A. Faculty evaluate the presentation in areas of content, presentation, and language use, and students receive feedback from the faculty. Successful completion of the Concept Paper Presentation is required to continue in the Ph.D. program.

Dissertation Proposal Development (LIN 890) and Proposal Defense Milestone

Each student seeking a Ph.D. is required to complete a research-based dissertation on a topic acceptable to their dissertation committee. LIN 890 is the course in which students develop their dissertation proposal. LIN 890 may be taken twice, at the discretion of the Linguistics faculty. The proposal defines a project of appropriate scope, extends the literature review from the Concept Paper, and outlines an appropriate research design and methodology. Students meet regularly with their dissertation advisor for guidance and discussion, but are expected to pursue the bulk of the work independently. Once the full committee deems the proposal defendable, a defense date is set.

All Ph.D. coursework must be completed or be on track to be completed by the semester the proposal defense occurs. Successful defense of one’s dissertation proposal is the candidacy examination for the LIN Ph.D. program.

Dissertation Research (LIN 900) and Dissertation Defense Milestone

Once students have successfully defended their dissertation proposal, they advance to Dissertation Research. LIN 900 may be taken multiple times, provided students earn a passing grade each semester.

The dissertation is a research project designed to provide new understanding of a topic, and includes a thorough and thoughtful review of the relevant literature, description of methodology, analysis, and discussion and conclusion elucidating the significance of the findings. The dissertation process is discussed in detail in the Gallaudet University Dissertation and Thesis Handbook.

The maximum time allowed for completion of the dissertation is seven years from the start of the LIN M.A. degree or six years from entrance into the Ph.D. program for those without a LIN M.A. degree. Any extension beyond this deadline will require the approval of the doctoral committee, the Graduate Program Coordinator, the School Director, and the Associate Dean of Graduate Education.

Courses & Requirements

Summary of Requirements

24 required credits, LIN 880 is taken twice

An examination of the theories and principles of sociolinguistics with specific reference to sign languages and Deaf communities around the world. Topics include multilingualism, bilingualism, and language contact, variation, discourse analysis, language policy and planning and language attitudes.

All first year Linguistics MA courses or by permission of instructor.

This course is an advanced seminar focusing on phonological theory, building on foundational material presented in Phonology I and Phonology II. Topics will vary depending upon current developments in phonological theory, focusing on both spoken and signed languages.

This course is an advanced seminar focusing on generative approaches to syntactic theory, building on foundational material presented in Generative Syntax I and Generative Syntax II. Topics will vary depending upon current developments in syntactic theory, focusing on both spoken and signed languages.

This seminar is the third course in the Cognitive Linguistic sequence of courses in the graduate linguistics program (the first two being LIN 721 and LIN 732). Possible major topics include cognitive grammar, cognitive semantics, conceptual blending, constructional grammar, embodiment, depiction, mental spaces, metaphor, metonymy, and the usage-based approach to language.

This course is required to be taken twice, typically beginning in the fall semester of students' first year in the Ph.D. program and continuing into the following spring semester. Students will design and conduct a research project under the supervision of a faculty member. Course requirements include a final paper by the end of the second semester with the following components, as applicable: development of an appropriate research plan, completion of the IRB human subjects review, and collection and analysis of data. LIN 880 may be repeated a third semester at the discretion of the instructor if requirements cannot be successfully completed in the usual two semesters.

Acceptance to LIN Ph.D. program and successful completion of the LIN Qualifying Exam.

This course serves as a transition from students' preparatory coursework to their dissertation proposal. Under supervision of a faculty member, students will complete a Concept Paper that identifies their research question(s) and defines key concepts that underlie those research questions. The Concept Paper also specifies the theoretical framework(s) to be adopted for research and discusses previous literature assumed as background information. Upon approval of a student's completed Concept Paper by the instructor, the student will then give a Concept Paper Presentation to the full faculty and take the field exam, both of which are developed on the basis of the student's completed Concept Paper. LIN 883 may be repeated one time.

Successful completion of LIN 880 Guided Research Project and LIN Faculty approval of the GRP presentation.

In this course, students will develop their dissertation proposal, producing a research plan for answering the research questions posed in their Concept Paper. Emphasis will be on defining a project of appropriate scope for a dissertation, extending the literature review and selecting an appropriate research design and methodology. Students will meet regularly with their dissertation advisor for guidance and discussion, but are expected to pursue the bulk of the work independently. LIN 890 may be repeated one time.

LIN 883, Field Exam, Concept Paper Presentation, and approval of the GRP paper as having achieved publication quality, as evaluated by an outside reader from the LIN faculty.

26 additional required credits, only for students who did not complete the Gallaudet M.A. in Linguistics

An introduction to the principles of linguistic study, with a concentrated focus on phonology and phonological theory as applied to English and ASL. Topics will include: phonetics, phonemics, phonological processes, syllables and syllabification, distinctive features, phonological rules, and an overview of current phonological theory.

This course provides an introduction to generative linguistics and principles of syntactic argumentation within the generative tradition. Topics include Parts of Speech, Phrase Structure rules, X-bar rules, the role of the Lexicon, and various types of syntactic movement related to verbal morphology, questions and passive constructions. The course focuses initially on English and other spoken languages, but also includes application to ASL towards the end of the course.

This course will introduce students to the profession of linguistics, its history and subfields, as well as the research specializations of department faculty. Students will also receive general training in a variety of skills relevant to graduate studies in linguistics, such as technical writing, using library resources to locate literature, using computer and editing techniques needed for carrying out sign linguistics projects, and applying for research grants and IRB approval for student research projects.

This is the first of a three-course sequence focusing on a cognitive linguistics approach to ASL. Examination of semiotic diversity in ASL from the perspective of Cognitive Grammar, with an emphasis on analysis of data. The primary focus of the course is on depiction, establishing a typology of depiction that includes many imagistic phenomena in ASL and other spoken and signed languages, such as enactments, manual depictive forms, and ideophones. Notions in Cognitive Grammar benefiting depiction analysis, such as constructions and construal, are also introduced.

This course builds on foundational material presented in Phonology I. Students will investigate the phonological structure of signs in American Sign Language. Part one (I) presents a comparison of notation systems for signs and provides extensive training in sign notation. Part two (II) deals with phonological contrast. Part three (III) is concerned with the phonotactic properties of lexical signs. Part four (IV) deals with phonological processes and historical change.

LIN 701 or permission of instructor.

This course is a continuation of LIN 721, with discussion of the tenets of cognitive linguistics, particularly the view that lexicon and grammar are a continuum of form-meaning pairings with varying degrees of abstraction and complexity. This discussion provides the theoretical background with which to investigate grammatical structures in ASL, English, and other languages, including metaphor, grammatical classes (e.g., noun and verb categories), and complex expressions (e.g., morphology, compounding, grammatical relations, and grammatical constructions).

LIN 721 or permission of instructor

This course builds on foundational material presented in Generative Linguistics I and extends them to the study of ASL and other sign languages. Lectures include continued opportunity for hands-on practice in deriving various syntactic structures, and also develop students' abilities to independently read and understand articles in generative linguistics.

LIN 702 or permission of instructor

12 elective credits (selected sample of offerings)

Elective offerings vary each semester. Electives outside of LIN are subject to approval by the Linguistics faculty.

Students are introduced to a descriptive framework with which to identify and analyze iconicity and depiction in ASL and other signed languages and spoken languages as well. The course focuses on depiction typology, examining the structure of role-shifting, constructed action and dialogue, classifier constructions/depicting verbs, aspectual constructions, abstract/metaphorical depictions, and other imagistic uses of space, including different types of gesture.

LIN 101, graduate student status, or permission of the instructor.

This course examines general issues in first language acquisition, focusing on the period from birth to five years. It includes critical review of literature on phonological, lexical, morphological and syntactic development for both signed and spoken first languages, from both nativist and usage-based theoretical perspectives.

All first year Linguistics MA courses plus LIN 741, or permission of instructor.

This course will review current theory and research in second language acquisition (SLA) from linguistic and psychological perspectives, focusing on the influences of various theoretical models. Students will be introduced to the principal areas of SLA research and the major methodologies available for their study. Course material will focus on acquisition of a spoken second language, but also discuss recent studies and analyze data related to second language acquisition of a sign language.

The focus of this course is a comparison among six dominant approaches to the analysis of discourse: pragmatics, speech act theory, conversational analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, and variation analysis, with close examination of different kinds of sign language discourse.

All first year Linguistics MA courses, or permission of instructor

Year I - Fall

Complete Qualifying Exam during the Year 1 Fall Semester.

Year I - Spring

Year II - Fall

Complete Viva Exam during the Year 2 Fall Semester.

Year II - Spring

Present Guided Research Project during the Year 2 Spring Semester.

Year III - Fall

Complete the Field Exam and Present Concept Paper during Year 3 Fall Semester.

Year III - Spring

Year IV - Fall

Defend Dissertation Proposal during Year 4 Fall Semester.

Year IV - Spring (and onward)

Defend Dissertation.

This course is for ABD students conducting any aspect of their dissertation research and writing.

Successful completion of LIN 890 and dissertation proposal defense, LIN 741, LIN 801, LIN 802, and LIN 827, and all four electives required for the doctoral program.

1. Specialized knowledge:

a. Demonstration of in-depth familiarity with current literature relevant to their chosen topic of research.

2. Critical evaluation:

a. Ability to critically compare and evaluate claims from the linguistics literature and argue for or against them in a coherent manner.

3. Formulation of research questions:

a. Ability to independently formulate clear and tractable research questions related to their individual projects, and develop a systematic and culturally responsible plan for answering them, including identification of data needed to further the investigation.

4. Dissemination and communication:

a. Ability to communicate information about sign language linguistics competently and respectfully to the field, the Deaf communities, and the greater public.

5. Ethical conduct as researchers

a. Demonstrating academic integrity and responsible conduct in their research practices with transparency and respect to the communities involved.

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Ph.d. in linguistics requirements.

Completed application form. See Application Instructions to learn how. A non-refundable application fee of $75. Official transcripts of all graduate study. See Application Guidelines and FAQ for more information. All international applicants from non-English speaking countries must demonstrate English language competence via the Degrees of...

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Graduate Program

The graduate program in Linguistics at Berkeley combines mentoring from faculty members in the department, coursework, research training, and professional development opportunities.

Faculty expertise in the department spans an unusually diverse range of endeavors. The graduate program accordingly includes a broad range of advanced seminars, along with coursework focusing on analyzing linguistic structure (e.g. syntax, semantics, phonology, phonetics), language ecologies (language variation and change, language and cognition), and methods (including field methods, archival research, experimental and corpus-based analyses, and computational modeling).

Graduate students have published their research in numerous journals, including Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Glossa , Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America , Language Documentation & Conservation , Linguistic Inquiry , and Phonology ; and regularly present their work at conferences, including the Annual Meeting on Phonology , the Manchester Phonology Meeting , New Ways of Analyzing Variation , the Cognitive Science Society Conference , the CUNY Conference on Sentence Processing , LabPhon , the Acoustical Society of America Meeting , the Linguistics Society of America ,  NELS , Sinn und Bedeutung , the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas , among others.

Graduate students actively participate in working groups, reading groups, and other activities, including Fieldwork Forum, Phorum, Syntax & Semantics Circle, and TABLE .  These groups contribute to the strength of the program as hubs of intellectual exchange, professional networking, and community building.

Graduate students in the Linguistics department are eligible to apply to two Graduate Designated Emphases : the Designated Emphasis in Indigenous Language Revitalization , and the  Designated Emphasis in Cognitive Science .

Our graduates build exciting careers in research labs, for-profit businesses, non-profits, government agencies, and higher education, among others.

Detailed description

The particulars of this program, describing the exact course requirements, details about the exams and required research papers are available in the  Linguistics Graduate Program description  (updated 2023). This document changes from time to time. Get previous versions of the program description for 2022 ,  2020 ,  2019 ,  2018 , and 2017 .

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Graduate Program: How to Apply

Our department offers programs of study for graduate students leading to the degree of Ph.D. in Linguistics, with tracks in General Linguistics or Computational Linguistics. See Graduate Programs for details about the program. For information on the application process, please see our FAQ's . Application instructions appear below. The next application cycle opens on September 1, 2024.

The Linguistics Department does not require GRE scores for applications.

Before applying, please review the UW Graduate School's policies and requirements for prospective applicants.

ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS MUST BE RECEIVED via the Graduate School web site before the Linguistics Department December 16  deadline for all (domestic and international) applicants. Applications are accepted for the Autumn quarter only. Please note that applicants are responsible for tracking their application materials by logging on to the electronic online Graduate School application . The Department of Linguistics does not offer conditional admission pending submission of some required documents. All required information must be present before an application is considered. Financial Aid and Assistantships Information

Required Application Materials

If you are an international applicant, please note item 6 below for important information about a policy change regarding the English proficiency requirement.

1. Electronic Application and fee . Apply Online 2. Statement of Purpose : Please write a one or two page statement presenting your objectives as a graduate student as well as any other information you feel would be relevant to your application, including whether you are interested in the General Linguistics Track or Computational Linguistics Track. See FAQ 1 and 10 .  3. Sample of Your Work : All applicants should send papers or conference presentations of high quality. 4. Letters of Recommendation : Three letters, preferably from people familiar with your academic work and especially with your work in linguistics courses are required. You will be asked as part of the on-line application process to provide email addresses of your recommenders so they can upload these recommendations. 5. Upload electronic copies of transcripts from prior schools into the online application site either as a PDF file or scan the transcript.. All students who accept an offer into the PhD program must provide an official (sealed) transcript and degree statement (with date of award & title of degree awarded) for verification to   Graduate Enrollment Management Services (GEMS)  unless they graduated from the UW. For more information, see   Official Transcripts Requirements .  6. English Proficiency Scores (IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS) : Please refer to the following UW Graduate School memoranda on English proficiency requirements for international students. The Graduate School details which tests satisfy the requirement and the minimum scores. Note that international PhD applicants must meet BOTH the UW Graduate School English proficiency requirements detailed in Policy 3.2 and the spoken English proficiency requirements described in Policy 5.2 in order to be considered for admission. If your scores are below the required ones, please consider retaking the test before you apply.

Policy 3.2: Graduate School English Language Proficiency Requirements Policy 5.2: Conditions of Appointment for TAs who are not Native Speakers of English

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Ph.D. Admission Requirements

Application Available for Fall 2025

The Department of Linguistics accepts applications for admissions to graduate study for only the fall term each year. We do not offer a Terminal Masters in Theoretical Linguistics. The application becomes available in September through the  Graduate College website . The application deadline for International and Domestic applicants is December 15.

If prospective applicants have any questions, please contact Joshua Carlin at  [email protected]

Application

Applications to the Ph.D., NAMA, MS, and joint Ph.D. programs in Linguistics are submitted through the University of Arizona  Graduate College . Paper applications will not be accepted.

GPA Requirement

Prospective applicants must have a 3.0 or higher GPA in order to qualify for admission.

Statement of Purpose

Applicants must submit a concise statement focusing on any previous research activities, the kind of research activities they would like to pursue at the University of Arizona, and their long-term career goals.

Writing Sample

Applicants must provide a writing sample to demonstrate their level and proficiency in writing.

Transcripts

Please upload an unofficial copy of your transcripts to the Graduate College application. Upon admission, the Graduate College will require official transcripts from all universities attended.

Standardized Tests

The GRE is optional and not required for application to the Ph.D., MS, and joint Ph.D. Programs. 

English Proficiency

English proficiency is one of the requirements for admission for all applicants whose native language is not English. Applicants must submit a minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 on the paper-based test (PB), 79 on the internet-based test (iBT), or an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) composite score of 7 (no subject area below a score of 6). International students seeking graduate teaching assistantships must attain the minimum TOEFL or IELTS score listed above and in addition, must attain a score of 26 or higher on the speak portion of the TOEFL IBT.

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from letter writers who know the student’s work, specifically assessing the student’s ability to carry out graduate work in linguistics. Applicants are encouraged to submit letters of recommendation from professors familiar with the applicant's recent academic work.

PhD Program in Linguistics

About the phd linguistics program.

We offer both an M.A. and a Ph.D. program. Applicants to the Ph.D. program need not already have completed an M.A. Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program do not routinely receive an M.A. along the way, but they may arrange to do so if they have fulfilled the requirements for the M.A. Some of our students also pursue an independent interdepartmental  specialization in cognitive science . We offer a five-year funding package to a small number of applicants each year.

What kind of linguistics do we do?

The Linguistics PhD program offers extensive training in the core areas of theoretical linguistics—phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics—and in sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and child language acquisition.

Throughout our program, the focus is on the rigorous study of language as a science. We are not primarily focused on the question of how such results can be put to practical use in language teaching, language policy debates, and the like, though of course a thorough grounding in theoretical linguistics is necessary to engage such questions in a fully-informed way. If you are especially interested in these domains, we recommend that you also look at applied linguistics PhD programs. Michigan State offers a PhD degree in Second Language Studies .

The PhD Linguistics experience

We have a longstanding lively culture of interaction in a robust intellectual community, including research groups in most of the areas mentioned. We are also fortunate to have modern and well- equipped laboratories devoted to experimental and field research in language acquisition, phonetics/laboratory phonology, sociolinguistics, and semantics-pragmatics.

Graduates of our Ph.D. program hold positions both in linguistics and in language-teaching departments across the world and continue to do cutting-edge research in their fields. Increasingly, our Ph.D. graduates have pursued careers in sectors beyond or adjacent to academia, including technology, educational administration, data science and more. 

Take a look at a brief overview of the Linguistics PhD degree requirements (courses, thesis/exam). Read about our admissions process , our funding options , and check the frequently asked questions .

For official details about policies governing the structure of the graduate programs, consult our graduate handbook. 

Alternatively, use our A–Z index

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PhD Linguistics / Overview

Year of entry: 2025

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• Bachelor's (Honours) degree at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and 
• Master's degree in a relevant subject – with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent)

Full entry requirements

Apply online

Please ensure you include all  required supporting documents  at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered.

Application Deadlines

For consideration in internal funding competitions, you must submit your completed application by  13 January 2025.

If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self–funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed.

• For September 2025 entry:  30 June 2025
• For January 2026 entry:  30 September 2025

Programme options

Programme overview

• Access expert supervision across an exceptional breadth of research areas in Linguistics.
• Join a vibrant and lively international centre for Linguistics with an active postgraduate research community.  
• Alongside an exceptionally large cluster of experts on English language, we have particular strengths in Romance, Germanic, and Austronesian languages, as well as the languages of Latin America and Africa.
• 92% of our research activity was recognised as 'world leading' or `internationally excellent' REF2021.

Want to find out more about what PhD study really involves, the application process and funding options for 2025? The Humanities Doctoral Academy will be conducting a range of sessions for potential PhD students across our Virtual Open Week (14 – 18 October 2024) across all four academic schools for anyone considering postgraduate research study for 2025/2026.

Register for your session here .

Fees for entry in 2025 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2024 were as follows:

• PhD (full-time) UK students (per annum): £4,786 International, including EU, students (per annum): £21,500
• PhD (part-time) UK students (per annum): £2,393

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

Please note for the majority of projects where experimentation requires further resource: higher fee bands (where quoted) will be charged rather than the base rate for supervision, administration and computational costs. The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive and, therefore, you will not be required to pay any additional bench fees or administration costs.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of the course for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your project.

Scholarships/sponsorships

There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.

To apply for University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered. The deadline for most internal competitions, including AHRC NWCDTP and School of Arts, Languages and Cultures studentships is 13 January 2025.

All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting the funding application form and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below. 

You will need to be nominated by your proposed supervisor for a number of our scholarships. Therefore, we highly recommend you discuss these funding opportunities with your supervisor first, so they can advise on your suitability and ensure you meet nomination deadlines.

For more funding information, visit our funding page or use our funding database to search for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

• ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP) PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• School of Arts, Languages and Cultures PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme 2025 Entry
• Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2025 Entry
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States)
• School of Arts, Languages and Cultures New Generation PhD Studentships 2025 Entry
• President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards 2025 Entry

Contact details

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Programmes in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.

• Linguistics and English Language

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